XY Beautiful- Virtue-Vice

Last Updated on Wednesday, 19 June 2013 17:11 Written by Pagan Hel

View Comments

Artist: XY Beautiful ( Seattle)

CD Title: Virtue-Vice

Label: Wicked Wonderland Empire.

Genre: Dark Industrial

Released: July 12th, 2013

xybeautifuljpg thumb

In the bands own words:

Thoughtful lyrics about love and faith lost. Hard, driving industrial beats. XY Beautiful is a sound trip into darkness and the faint glimmer of hope at the end of it all.

Here is the Track by Track Review:

Erase my Life

Quirky with very angular drum beats and a scathing vocal brings to life this seductive track. It holds quite a contagious rhythm but not in the usual vein of industrial this is much, much, darker, but still very hypnotising.

Flare – The Nova

Blunted rhythms are brought to the forefront of the track, whilst the amazing vocals sizzle ferociously under the heavy dark wave of impacting sound and scours impressively.

Et Uxor

More angular industrial dark sounds usher forth in a more experimental wave of riveting infectiousness. The incidental and shrill plink of the keyboard adds a nice peppering of urgency to the track.

Before I Wake

A harmonic buzzing begins and a solid heavy bass line sets to work adding intrigue into the mix. The rhythms are sinewy and of a monotone nature with slow brooding tempo, whilst the vocals are grisly and organised into clean and gruff giving more depth to what is a very interesting track.

Universe 25

A bold bubbling heavy rhythm wraps itself around a low toned clean and whispered vocal, blending with an occasional keyboard sound. Again a good bass line makes itself heard along with a resonating drum beat that keeps the track well balanced.

The Martyr Schema

More cymbals can be heard when listening to this track and the vocals take a turn for their gnarly best. This is very emotive and scathing and will no doubt leave its thick and tempestuous mark on the aural cavities as the twisting rhythms scar with intent to throw the listener into disarray.

Vain and Proud

Expanding on their unusual blend of dark industrial the tempo quickens and a growling haze of vocals are quickly replaced with a clean whisper, which make it a strong and impacting track for the ‘industrial head’ to gnaw on. The melodic tendencies of the track are ambient and atmospheric and typical of the genre but not typical of the band as they like to place a more unique stamp on the proceedings.

Edge of Sky

An enthralling beginning with muted and unusual sounds with whispered vocal that can hardly be heard amid the clacking and devilish provocation. Its experimental layers of slow and arduous punishing rhythms give a full on impact to what is a very potent and hypnotic track indeed.

That Angels Fly

The dark beats echo fiercely amid sparse cymbals, like heavy footsteps in the rain, whilst the vocal pumps in a monotone context and adds expressive appeal. The corners of this track are well sculpted in simple rhythms that still manage to compel and creates a unique listening experience.

Virtue-Vice

The title track for the album – its startling opening houses every sound known to man I should think! Muscular embraces of aggression are drenched in plodding rhythms that show more than just dark experimental industrial, but a thoughtful gaze into the world of XYbeautiful.

The Light we crave

Loaded with plenty of bubble and passion it ignites and smoulders amid pulsating rhythms and quickening beats. The vocals lay on the foundation of the said track and play out in whispered digital form adding a dark balance and atmosphere to continue its punishing finish.

To Sum up:

This album is very experimental in nature and plays around with some amazing sounds that blend together in a twisted array of corrosive angst. It holds a resonating buzz of provocation and even seductive in places, literally sucking the listener into its gnarly compositions with ease. Sometimes the tracks seem sterile and unforgiving but it is all part of the rich textures that Industrial music needs and XYbeautiful have created and delved into the atmospheric side of things and produced a malevolent monster.

However, I would like to see more synth used which would give way to more impacting rhythms that you could actually move to, rather than just listen to, as sometimes it is hard to recognise one track from another, but that is my only negative comment, on the whole this is one immense listen.

9/10

Take a Listen to XY Beautiful